Category Archives: Entertainment

I’m going to tell you right now, I am a HUGE Incredibles fan. I was six when The Incredibles came out and I think I watched this movie nearly every day for about a year and a half straight, that’s how much I loved The Incredibles. It was the best superhero movie I had ever seen as a child and it continuously made me happy. As I grew older and continued watching The Incredibles I began asking myself as I watched the end over and over again if there would be a sequel or not. It was so obvious that there should be one but as the years crawled by and the hope of an Incredibles sequel grew less and less likely I began to give up hope.

I think the last time I watched The Incredibles was, I’d say, in 2011 and after that final viewing of the Pixar superhero flick I thought I would never see The Incredibles again. And then…that hope for an Incredibles sequel that I had buried away because it seemed so unlikely was reawakened with a bang as Disney announced that sequel that I had been longing for for years was going to be made. I jumped up and down with joy.

The Incredibles was my favorite children’s movie just ahead of the cute children’s film, Stuart Little, and the thought of a sequel was beyond a dream come true for me. Last week during the Winter Olympics a sneak peek for Incredibles 2 was released and, after finally seeing it today, I’m here to share it with you.

After seeing the sneak peek I’m still excited about the movie but I don’t know if it has that same pizzazz, that same special sauce that made it so enjoyable fourteen years ago. I think because The Incredibles set such a high bar Disney is possibly trying too hard to top it and that could be a problem. I mean I like the plot.

Elastigirl has been hired by an agency to bring superheroes back into the limelight while Mr. Incredible has to become a stay-at-home dad and take care of the kids which shows how the creators have evolved the story since last time we saw them. And while the sneak peek was enjoyable it also felt, I hate to admit it, a little boring. Some of the jokes didn’t land properly, seeing Edna Mode in the teaser felt like a nostalgic callback to the previous Incredibles rather than a necessity, and there wasn’t exactly anything that excited me from this trailer. One thing that did interest me about this sneak peek, however, is the fact that there was no sign of the villain. That means there’s quite a bit of content in this movie that hasn’t been shared and that’s always exciting to see.

I’m hoping Incredibles 2 will be just as enjoyable as its predecessor but I’ll have to wait and see. Judging from this sneak peek though it’ll fall just short of The Incredibles’ former glory and it’ll try too hard to be like the previous film rather than embracing it and moving the story forward in an equally enjoyable manner. I hope I’m wrong about this but my gut instinct is usually never wrong.

With the arrival of Black Panther a couple of days agothere are now 18! Marvel movies that have come out in the last decade. Not only is that amazing but the majority of the films are actually really enjoyable. Marvel has become a franchise juggernaut. In fact, they’re starting to make Star Wars look kind of weak in comparison when you think about how many more films they have compared to the science-fiction franchise (but Star Wars is still the best, in my opinion, so far.) So today, since I have now officially seen the groundbreaking superhero film, Black Panther, I want to share with you where I rank it among nine of its other predecessors. Enjoy!

10. Ant-Man

Three years ago Ant-Man debuted and while it definitely wasn’t one of the best Marvel movies I’ve ever seen it is a fun film to watch. Scott Lang brings the laughs, Hope van Dyne is an awesome heroine, and the movie is entertaining. Now is it anywhere close to the quality of the nine other films ahead of it, no, but against the eight movies behind it I happen to like this film more.

9. The Avengers

I still remember when I saw The Avengers for the first time. It completely changed my view on what a superhero movie could be. I mean seeing six superheroes fighting together to save the world was really amazing and it immediately turned me into a Marvel fan. Now I saw this movie the other day and I was laughing at how lame it was. In 2012 this movie was the best you could get from Marvel but now after there being so many movies that are light years better than The Avengers it just looks old. And there’s nothing particularly wrong with that. In fact, it makes me happy to see that it’s so ancient. That means the Marvel films have gotten much better since then and that’s always a good thing.

8. Avengers: Age of Ultron

While The Avengers is a better made movie than its sequel I happen to like this movie a lot more simply because the original Avengers’ stories are much more developed and the addition of Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Quicksilver makes the movie that much more enjoyable.

Guess what?! I’ve seen Black Panther and spoiler alert, it’s magnificently, wonderfully, incredibly, awesome! I knew this movie was going to be good but boy, I wasn’t expecting it to be this amazing. From the first scene all the way to the last this movie had me beaming with pure joy and pride as I watched this film. I’m telling you, I’ve never been more proud to be a woman of color. This movie is literally a dream come true. To see so many powerful, smart black women and men was just…in a word, glorious. And that’s not the only reason why this movie was so enjoyable. The story was impeccably told, the visuals were jaw-dropping and captivating, the action, oh my goodness, the action was mindbogglingly epic, the outfits were gorgeously designed, and the characters were magnificent.

Marvel has clearly sent a message to the world with this movie and, I hate to say it, but it made Wonder Woman (another historic superhero movie) look like a joke in comparison. Black Panther was everything I wanted it to be…and more.

I also enjoyed the trailers before the film immensely as well. There was Tomb Raider which I have to admit, it looked kind of good, Ant-Man and the Wasp was a fun trailer in IMAX, Solo: A Star Wars Story was, of course, wonderful to see, but the surprise of the day was the Venom teaser.

I have no knowledge of Venom other than he’s the scary version of Spider Man but I do have knowledge of movie trailers and this teaser practically screamed interestingly awesome. Another thing that excited me is seeing Tom Hardy. He’s one of my favorite actors and so seeing him in a movie kind of solidifies a movie’s chances of being good. It was also a really good teaser because it didn’t share anything and that’s always exciting.

All in all, this has been a Marvel-ous Friday and I couldn’t be happier. Tomorrow I will share with you my spoiler-free review of the movie and you definitely won’t want to miss it.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day. Wakanda Forever! (That’s something that’s said in the movie and it is totally awesome!) 🙂

After Disney bought Star Wars in 2012 there have been three movies, a new cartoon, over a dozen books, and there isn’t a sign of Disney slowing down any time soon. I mean there’s literally going to be an actual Star Wars land coming to Disney World next year which is ridiculously awesome!!!! And now Disney has announced that they have just gotten the moguls behind the HBO phenomenon, Game of Thrones, to make other Star Wars films that stand outside of the standalone movies and Rian Johnson’s trilogy!

Disney is also bringing out a streaming service next year which will feature a live-action Star Wars show for the first time. And then in a little over three months we’re going to have another Star Wars film to indulge ourselves with and then after that I’m sure there will be countless books to get our imaginations wrapped around. And remember, there’s also going to be an Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone film coming out in 2020. It’s Star Wars galore!

And while this is all great news there are some who feel that Disney might be taking the magic of Star Wars away by having so many venues for the franchise. Now for me I couldn’t be happier.

As you all know I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. I still remember the days when I used to dream about there being more Star Wars movies every time I watched the end of Return of the Jedi. When Disney announced they had bought LucasFilm I was legitimately terrified because when I used to think of Disney I thought of, well, Mickey Mouse and I definitely didn’t want a Mickey Star Wars.

That skepticism was instantly erased after The Force Awakens, for it was everything that I wanted a Star Wars film to be. I could get behind the new characters of this generation’s trilogy and it brought back the classics, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill. It was the perfect way for Disney to tell us, “Star Wars is back!!!”

Then there was Rogue One.

This movie proved to everyone that LucasFilm wasn’t Disney-fying Star Wars by making a film where everyone dies. I’ve seen some rated R films that haven’t even done that. I was sold on Disney’s concept of movies after that.

And The Last Jedi only increased my appreciation for Disney’s vision of the franchise by having Rian Johnson create a very long and complex film that helped move the story of Star Wars in a whole other direction and I love it.

The fact that Disney is already planning to keep giving us Star Wars for many more years is a dream come true for me. And judging from the way they’re hiring these people to make Star Wars movies it seems like they’re going to make the Star Wars franchise off of the Marvel model and I am very glad about it. The thought of at least two Star Wars films in a year is practically incredible and if this ever comes to pass I’m going to be one of the happiest Star Wars fans ever.

Now if the quality of the films start decreasing and become more like Marvel films (sorry Marvel but Star Wars stillhas better movies) then that’ll be a problem. If every film, however, is made with the respect and care as the last three movies were made and each film ends up being as good as The Last Jedi, or better, then that will be the greatest gift Disney could’ve ever given me.

Until these new movies are announced I’ll continue to focus on Solo which comes out on May 25and then after that I’ll slowly begin counting down the days until Episode IX.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day. May the Force Be With You.

With the release of the Solo trailer a few days ago I finally got an extensive look at LucasFilm’s latest Star Wars installment and while my feelings towards the trailer were overwhelmingly positive there was one nagging problem that I couldn’t ignore. The conundrum I just can’t get my head around is the problem of women representation in Star Wars.

Look at this list of all of the major female characters in Star Wars.

Princess Leia

Padme Amidala

Rey

Jyn Erso

And now, Qi’Ra

All of five of these women (Princess Leia doesn’t exactly count considering that she was the first major woman in Star Wars) have dark hair and are white. It’s kind of strange if you really look at it. And the last three women have been British! That’s like if every Marvel film had a female superhero that was a sexy, red head like Black Widow. That would be ridiculous.

Because we have grown to love these characters we have given Star Wars a pass at their lack of creativity but I think enough is enough. Rian Johnson helped shake up this list of women by introducing Amilyn Holdo, a pink haired Admiral of the Resistance, and Rose Tico, the first major Asian female character in Star Wars but now Solo is taking us right back to what has already come before.

I mean where are the blondes of Star Wars? Or the red heads? Mon Mothma doesn’t exactly count because she has never been a top three major character in a film. Why couldn’t Qi’Ra have been a black woman with white hair, like the Storm of Star Wars? Or maybe Qi’Ra could’ve been the first major Latina female character in this expanding franchise. Creativity is a boundless constant, it’s what has kept Star Wars alive for fourty years straight, and yet these producers have been barely willing to step outside the box when it comes to the women of Star Wars.

And the thing about Jyn, after seeing some early concept art for her character due to the behind-the-scenes, she was at first going to have red hair! That would’ve shaken things up a bit and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now but because they made her yet another British brunette now the trend has become ridiculously tiring.

Now is this going to make me not like Qi’Ra? Of course not. I’m already a fan of hers and I’ve only barely seen her in the teasers but the minds behind LucasFilm have got a stale imagination when it comes to the major women of Star Wars. If we’re going to have another ten or more years of Star Wars movies, and television shows, we need creativity, and quick!

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day. May the Force Be With You.

One of the reasons why I was so excited to see the Super Bowl was for the trailers. I’m, as you can tell from my blog, a huge movie lover and so to be able to see so many fabulous movie trailers in one night is a blast for me. Today I’m going to share with you all of the trailers from the Super Bowl that managed to blow my mind. Enjoy!

Skyscraper

I’m not a big fan of movies with Dwayne Johnson in them. They’re usually super corny and films that I just don’t want to see but I have to say, this one interested me a little bit. The story is intriguing and, if executed right, could be really enjoyable. I would totally go see this if I’m having a boring day and I just want to see an action flick.

A Quiet Place

The first time I saw the trailer for this movie was during Justice League and it frightened the mess out of me. The theater was so densely quiet and I was trying to figure out what was going on. I am not a horror film fan whatsoever. I mean I used to cry at Michael Jackson’s Thriller when I was a young child for crying out loud, that’s how much I don’t like scary stuff, but this movie’s plot is so terrifyingly interesting I want to see it.

What is it that they have to stay quiet about? What is going on? I like that the trailers are providing enough tantalizing imagery while keeping the secret of what the horrific villain, or villains will be. That’s great marketing because the only way I’m going to find out who it is their hiding from is if I go see it in the movies. Smart move, Paramount, smart move.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

This trailer had me immediately engaged due to its horrifying beginning. I mean that’s the worst way to wake up right? *shudder* Then as the trailer goes along it slightly veers away from that horror aspect that the trailer began with but it still had me engaged.

What this trailer conveyed to me was that the creators behind the Jurassic Park franchise have realized we, as viewers, don’t exactly care about a story. We want dinosaurs! The more and more dinosaurs you have the more enjoyable the film will be for everyone watching the movie in IMAX and this Jurassic World movie is no exception. They’re going to make sure that they have you watching the movie afraid at every turn, at every monstrous growl rumbling through the theater, and at every open dinosaur maw filled with racks of knife-sharp teeth about to eat someone. I appreciate that because that’s the only reason why I enjoyed the last one. It was a monster movie and I enjoyed every bit of the screaming humans and roaring dinosaurs rattling my brain in that IMAX theater andI know I’m going to have a great time again watching more screaming humans and more roaring dinosaurs in this sequel. 🙂

Last night during the Super Bowl (by the way, GREAT JOB EAGLES!!!!!!) a teaser for Solo debuted and I kind of lost my mind for a second. The teaser was everything that I was hoping for…and more! And just now on Good Morning America they debuted the official teaser and I have to say, it is amazing!!!!

Okay, like I said before, this teaser is amazing. I was skeptical about this movie since it was announced and I thought Disney had finally bitten off more than they can chew. Well, this teaser dissuades this fact in every way possible and now I’m going to tell you all of the things I liked about this trailer. Enjoy!

1. The Music

One of the things I was interested in seeing for this teaser was the music. The music tells the tone of a Star Wars film and I wanted to see what the tone for this movie was going to be. Well, I’m glad to say that this movie is going to have a serious tone rather than a more comedic vision that maybe the old directors were looking for. I also liked that the music, while it felt like Star Wars, it felt unique as well. This isn’t going to be your normal Star Wars flick and I love that!

2. The Characters

Oh my goodness, these characters look amazing. Alden Ehrenreich doesn’t look like Harrison Ford’s Han Solo but I don’t even care because he’s still cool. He embodies the spirit of Han Solo and that’s what is important.

Donald Glover also doesn’t look like Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissean but once again I don’t even care because he looks so cool that it doesn’t even really matter.

Then there was Chewbacca. Oh my goodness, I love Chewbacca. He’s the greatest Wookie ever!

Heh, maybe we need an updated version of these characters. *shrug*

And then the other new characters already interest me in the best possible way. There are fabulous, beautiful women,

a new uber-cool droid,

and a crooked looking mentor in the form of Woody Harrelson’s Beckett.

What excites me are incredibly different and exciting looking characters in Star Wars and this standalone film is going to highlight a new side of Star Wars, the criminal world of the galaxy and that’s super interesting.